Chapter 4: You look strong.

I yawned and stretched my arms. This was probably the best sleep I'd had in a very long time. I was always scared that I'd be discovered and barely slept for three hours at a time.

Thinking about it, my life had been really messed up, even from my childhood. My mother had killed my father to get his system when I was four.

What made it so messed up was the fact that she didn't even blink. She had poisoned him, shot him in the head three times and burnt the body. He wasn't a bad man. I knew because I had great recollection of things. He had loved me a lot. But then that b*tch killed him. I had a fear of her since. I didn't dare run, didn't dare disobey and didn't dare speak. If it wasn't for the fact that I had began speaking a year before the incident, I would have been thought to be dumb.

She was later killed by someone else and no one did anything about it. I felt a bit relieved when it happened but I still felt angry.

It wasn't murder.

That's what they said. They said it wasn't murder. I felt the anger rising up within me. They had to pay. They had to understand that they couldn't continue living as if it had never happened. I knew there was no point. The system was gone. There would be nothing to gain by going on a killing spree. The person who killed my mother was probably dead anyway.

When a person with a system killed another person with a system, the dead person's system was accumulated into theirs making their original system stronger. Since power was everything, the thirst for it was that strong. Relatives turned on relatives and friends turned on friends. This world was ruined and there was no going back.

I perked my ears up as I heard a rustle in nearby bush. Someone or something was coming here and that thing was really close. I was about to make a run for it when someone spoke. "Hey, won't you at least say hi?" The voice was female. I turned around to find a beautiful short woman standing there. She had blonde hair with a blue streak at the end and well defined features. I was taken aback by how fast it took her to get here. She hadn't been this close when I heard her earlier.

"Wow, you're one cute guy." She said approaching me. I was about to say something but she spoke again.

"You look strong too."

I suddenly had a very bad feeling. It could be described as a premonition of some sorts but just before her hand moved, I quickly took a step backwards. The place I was standing before seemed to explode as her hand passed. I gulped.

Could it be that she knew I had a system even with the disguise?

She cocked her head to the side a little and gave a wry smile. "I was right!" She seemed excited. "You are strong."

She muttered a few words and suddenly the forest seemed to come to life. The ground was glowing with mostly blue and green light and each tree seemed to be moving.

If I had doubts, I was sure now. This girl in front of me used to have a system. I still wasn't sure she knew about my system though. Unless she saw me by the river. My old face had been quite popular as most wanted.

"Hey, won't you do something?" I said under my breath.

['Inherent talent' is ignoring you]

I was dumbfounded. This was not expected in the least. Before I could do anything, another attack was launched at me. "Focus on me, you cutie!" She screamed charging towards me.

This b*tch was crazy!

This time I ducked and proceeded to land a kick in her shin. She wheezed and took a step back.

"Why the hell are you fighting me?!" I asked.

"Why the hell shouldn't I?!" she asked back.

This time, I attacked first. I rushed in with a fist. Although I didn't have any skills, I wouldn't lose to a person with a system in terms of physical strength. She dodged the incoming punch by a hair's breath and tried to kick me where I had kicked her but I skillfully blocked it with my hand. She smiled. "Got you!"

I frowned and immediately bent back dodging and incoming explosion. The explosions themselves weren't big. They just looked scary. But that split second had made me realize something. Something I had failed to realize. And if I was right, then this girl wasn't a threat in the slightest. I came back up even though the explosions hadn't ended. I was a bit skeptical but I had to take the risk.

This time it was her turn to be surprised.

"How did you know?" she asked when her explosions didn't have any effect on me.

"It wasn't that difficult." I said scratching my head. The seemingly 'alive' forest became still. She had been using an illusory skill.

I realized it when I saw that although explosions were going on just in front of me I couldn't feel any heat. When I saw the forest moving, I had thought she had absorbed more than on system and therefore different skill types. But although the forest had seemed scary, I thought it was strange that it didn't harm me in anyway. I had been concentrating on the battle so if there was anything like that I would have been caught of guard.

Thinking about it now that was probably why the skill ignored me.

['Inherent talent' says you are stupid]

I chose not to react to that. I looked at the girl who was staring at me with a sort of glow in her eyes. She had no intention of hurting me from the very beginning.

"My name is Tracy." she said bowing her head.

"Yeah, I'm Chad." I said feeling awkward.

Her face suddenly looked dumb. "That is a terrible name." she said in disappointment. "Why didn't you use a skill, Chad?" she asked.

I shook my head. "What gave you the impression that I had a skill."

She looked even more disappointed.

"Anyway, why did you attack me?" I still didn't trust Tracy since I didn't know her reason for attacking.

She smiled again. "Like I said, you looked strong."